As you must know, ELD violations did not affect CSA scores during the “soft enforcement” period — between December 18, 2017, and April 1, 2018.

However, now full enforcement of the FMCSA’s ELD mandate has begun, which means that ELD violations do affect CSA scores. Moreover, if a non-exempt driver does not have an ELD when required, he/she is also placed out-of-service for at least 10 hours.

That’s not a situation you’d want to be in.

In this blog post, we take an in-depth look at the true “cost” of ELD violations, their impact on CSA scores, how you can avoid ELD violations, and more.

ELD violations and CSA scores

As we mentioned earlier, ELD violations now affect a carrier’s CSA scores.

Although any violation recorded before April 1, 2018, will not appear in the CSA SMS, violations recorded after April 1 will be counted against SMS scores. These violations can be seen in the May 2018 monthly SMS results.

Different violations carry different severity weights. Following is a list of 22 ELD-related violations, along with the severity weight of each violation, that affect SMS scores.

395.11G — “a failure to provide supporting documents in the driver’s possession upon request” carries the most violation points — 7 out of 10.

There are also a few smaller violations (severity weights of 1 out of 10), e.g., failing to make annotations, failing to manually add location description, failing to maintain an ELD instruction sheet, failing to maintain ELD user manual, etc. Although these violations are smaller in terms of severity weights, they should not be neglected.

With proper driver training and awareness, these violations can be easily avoided. For more information, read how to avoid ELD violations.

Drivers are being placed out-of-service

As we discussed earlier, if a non-exempt driver does not have an ELD when required, he/she is placed out-of-service for at least 10 hours. Additionally, drivers can also be placed out-of-service for:

Using an unauthorized ELD or AOBRD

Falsifying logs

Assuming that the driver at least has paper logs, he/she may be allowed to reach the final destination and deliver the load after the 10-hour out-of-service period is up. However, they cannot be dispatched on their next trip until they comply with the ELD mandate by installing an FMCSA-compliant and certified electronic logging device.

If a driver is dispatched again without an authorized ELD, the driver and the carrier may be subject to further enforcement actions.

The cost of violations and OOS

Each day is an estimated loss of $264 in revenue when a driver is out-of-service. Additionally, when a driver gets an out-of-service order, the vehicle will likely have to be towed. The cost of towing, of course, varies, but a 40-mile tow, on average, could cost up to $344.

It is, of course, on top of all the fines and penalties you pay for the violation.

Fines for ELD violations could range from $1,000 to $10,000. According to the North American Transportation Association, a failure to comply with 395.8(A) has an average fine of $2,867. Moreover, the highest recorded fine is $13,680.

The KeepTruckin ELD is the #1-rated ELD solution in the market. Over 40,000 fleets and 500,000 drivers use and trust KeepTruckin for their compliance, regulatory, and fleet management needs.

We have also recently launched the KeepTruckin Shifting Gears Program. Through this program, we help unhappy fleets and owner-operators offset the cost of switching to KeepTruckin.

In other words, if you are unhappy with your current ELD provider and would like to switch to KeepTruckin, we will provide you with a buyout offer that will help cover the costs of switching contracts.

Our latest survey reveals that only 21% drivers are happy with their current ELD provider. In comparison, 80% respondents reported that they are very happy with the KeepTruckin ELD solution and are 6x likely to recommend KeepTruckin to a friend.

With the right kind of ELD solution — which is reliable and guarantees compliance — you can avoid ELD violations and improve your CSA scores. KeepTruckin is the perfect ELD solution for that!

If you have any questions about the KeepTruckin ELD or the KeepTruckin Shifting Gears Program, call 844-325-9230 or email at support@keeptruckin.com. Our 24/7 customer support team is always available to help you.

Author

Hunbbel Meer

Hunbbel covers industry trends as a writer and researcher for KeepTruckin. His goal is to help fleets understand how to use KeepTruckin's products and features so they can improve safety, efficiency, and compliance.